Misplaced Sentiment
by thebluelake
Summary: Everybody needs something to soothe the sting of unrequited passion. Unfortunately 'friends with benefits' can often come with side affects of its own.


She wasn't his usual type, that was for sure. He'd heard about her from Gale; the famous chick from the sports bar with the belly ring and tattoos. This however was Peeta's very first glimpse of her in the flesh. Flesh being the appropriate word. She was wearing black jeans that clung to her legs and made the small, tight curve of her ass look obscenely good. Her boots clacked against the floor and his eyes followed them all the way to her knees where they laced shut. Gale had mentioned she always wore cropped shirts and had often descended into nonsensical babbling with his descriptions of the beauty of her stomach that did nothing to excite Peeta's mind (or anywhere else really). He liked boobs, not stomachs, or so he had thought. He had been mistaken apparently. Every time she reached for something high on the shelf he enjoyed watching the stretch and arch of her uncovered back and waist and the starkness of the tattoo on her side against her pale skin.

"What is it for you hon?" she pulled him from his daydream with her question and he felt his cheeks warm slightly at her smirk and sparkling, sinful eyes.

"Beer. Um, Budweiser." He handed her the money and hurried back to his table. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her the rest of the night. She had a loud, obnoxious laugh that echoed throughout the bar and had one of those voices that carried around a room easily. He could hear her from where she was standing talking to her friend at the bar; the girl, Johanna he had learned, was listening to the complaints of her friend about a biochemistry assignment. It was then he realised just who said friend was; Katniss Everdeen. She sat near him in a few of his classes and he'd fawned over her for months, barely getting the courage to greet her hello outside of classes never mind working up the nerve to ask her out. He'd fantasized a lot about the feel of her breasts and the sound of her voice. It had gone far beyond lust at this point, veering into dangerous territory where Peeta feared a little for his own sanity. Just as his mind started to mentally undress her however she left the bar and he watched her retreating form, blushing furiously when Johanna had spotted him and was now grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

She sat down next to him at the end of her shift and began harassing him immediately about his interest in her friend. It didn't last long though, thankfully. He didn't talk to anyone about Katniss Everdeen, not even his friends. He certainly wasn't going to talk about her with her friend. Eventually they moved onto other things; sports, art and a few books and movies they both enjoyed. He liked her he quickly discovered, beyond admiring her ass and toned tummy which were quickly forgotten as they settled into friendly banter similar to that he shared with his friends. She was fun and easy to talk to, not like other girls he'd hung around, and so when she asked if he wanted to hang out ("as friends just, of course" with a wink) sometime he took her number and waved her goodbye as they parted ways on the street. He didn't have many friends who were girls and it couldn't hurt to have an in road to the girl of his affections.

* * *

He should of saw this coming a mile off really. It was so typical of his luck, as per everything in his love life. Johanna had invited him to a house party a couple of months into their friendship; so far they'd just hung out at the bar and a café near the university library and a few times in his living room or hers watching movies. It wasn't a strange request therefore, not really, only that they hadn't exactly hung out together around other people before. She told him to bring his friends and so he invited Gale, his other flatmate Finnick as well as Finnick's girlfriend Annie. He knew Katniss would be there. She and Johanna lived together and were good friends it was apparent from the way the girl talked about what was going on in her life; they never mentioned Peeta's crush on her however and that he was a little glad of. He'd hoped this would be his chance to speak with her properly. They'd had brief conversations so far in her and Johanna's flat, which was major progress anyway considering what had gone on previously. He hoped though with some drinks and a more social atmosphere his luck might be in.

It wasn't to be. He got to the party late, finishing up his shift at the restaurant before rushing to get ready and driving to the house, getting lost a few times (it was the house of some distant friend of Johanna's he'd never visited before). He found Gale deep in conversation with Katniss in the corner of the kitchen. It turned out they came from towns near each other and both enjoyed archery; Gale ran the society and was trying his best to encourage Katniss to join. Peeta's heart felt like it had fallen into his stomach. He'd never told Gale of the beautiful girl from his classes that he'd like for so long he couldn't remember how he'd felt before her. And here his room mate was, enjoying everything Peeta wanted to; Katniss laughing at his jokes, touching his arm and grinning up at him as they moved closer and closer. He gave up trying to join their conversation not long after he started and decided to drink more instead.

He saw them later tucked into a different corner, Gale's arms around her and their mouths moving furiously together. He wanted to tear Gale off her. Tell her all the awful things his friend had done to other girls he'd hooked up with like this. He downed another shot instead.

* * *

Johanna found him sometime later. She was dressed differently than usual, her tight jeans replaced with a scandalous dress that was short, tight and black as well as being completely backless. She was a little drunk, maybe as drunk as him, but surely not as miserable.

"I saw them," her voice was laced with sympathy. He just shook his head and sipped on his drink.

"I'm fine. It's not like I was in love or anything." He could hear the bitterness in his own voice; he was angry at himself; he'd probably thought at some point that that was what he was feeling. Love. God he was pathetic. He'd had girlfriends before, hooked up with plenty of girls and had sex. He didn't know why she turned him into such a mess.

He jumped a little when he felt a hand stroking one side of his hair and looked up to be met with unfocused, deep brown eyes. Johanna's eyes were pretty, he supposed, he'd never really noticed that before.

"You're a good guy Peeta. You'll find somebody," she grinned, "don't worry so much. I just wish I could make you feel better." He looked at her properly then. Despite the alcohol she was watching him intently, waiting for a response, a response to the unspoken question she'd thrown at him not a few seconds ago.

Someone staggered and fell into her then, pushing her closer to him, and that was all the encouragement he needed. He kissed her desperately, pulling her small body against his and feeling the hum of pleasure in her throat as she moaned into his mouth. He ran his hands down the smooth skin of her back and could feel the dampness there from the heat of the party. He went further, grazing over her ass, the ass that he'd admired from afar that first day in the bar; it felt even better than it looked and he squeezed it enthusiastically causing her to grin against his mouth.

"Come on." She pulled away suddenly, dragging him down the hallway and out of the house. It was cooler outside and Peeta felt like he could breath a little easier but then she was rushing him through the garden, towards the back where it was darker, in behind some bushes. It was quiet out here; no one had apparently sought the privacy of the garden, preferring instead the many rooms of the house. She was already seated in the grass he realised suddenly as she pulled him down to her and started kissing him again, pressing him to sit down as she straddled his lap. He loved the feel of her back, her toned waist that Gale had used to fantasize over. Fucking Gale. Fuck him. He was distracted for a second by his sudden heartbreak again but shook it off and kissed her even harder, threading his hands into her smooth hair. It was short and a deep, chocolate brown. He usually liked girls with long hair, hair that drifted down into his face when they leaned over to kiss him or in the throes of sex. He hadn't ever liked Johanna like those girls though. Did this all mean that he liked her in that way too? He thought she was hot of course, her body and her wicked grin and her eyes that glittered with mischief. He cast the thought aside quickly when he felt her kissing his neck softly before digging in her teeth and making him grunt softly in the back of his throat. He liked what she was doing now and he liked that she was making him forget and that was enough for the moment.

She slid off his lap all of a sudden before Peeta could argue. He chose to remain silent instead as he watched her pull the hem of her dress up to her waist, slide off her underwear and reach for his hand, pressing it against her clit which made her jerk and shudder at once. He kissed her, rubbing hard and fast as he felt his dick throb in his pants, listening to her panting little breaths when they pulled their mouths off of each other to breath.

"Can I, lick you? Down there?" He asked breathlessly. He'd hadn't done that before and he felt the sudden strong urge to. To his disappointment she shook her head furiously.

"No, no just keep going, please," she was pleading with him, her legs quivering as she knelt before him. She came suddenly, shaking and moaning into his neck and uttering quiet curses which made him smile a little. She had barely finished however when he felt her undoing his fly and tugging his jeans down over his thighs. He felt like he was about to burst at this point, so turned on from the sight of her orgasm and the feel of her pussy under his hand. She lay down, spreading her legs and tugging gently on his arm to coax him to join her. He could see the flushed redness between her legs, the dampness of the skin there glistening in the faint light. He leaned down and kissed her again, feeling his cock grazing her wetness, the head nudging her sensitive clit and making her gasp a little.

"Fuck me Peeta, come on," she whispered urgently, pulling him closer with strong legs. He sat up a little reaching for his pocket to find a condom before she stilled him with a shake of her head.

"It's fine, I'm covered."

Normally he would have put a one on anyway but his alcohol and lust riddled mind was impatient as it had ever been and so he tossed his wallet to the side. She put her left leg over his shoulder and asked him to press the other one down to the side before settling on the grass. He thrust into her, hard and fast and she groaned as he did from the sudden fullness. She arched her back, stretching the leg on his shoulder back further so he could go deeper, moaning loudly when he did. She knew what she liked that much was clear; he hadn't assumed once that Johanna was pure or virginal or even inexperienced. She had given off the vibe from day one that she was a girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it. But he knew what he wanted too. He pulled out of her all of a sudden and she groaned in disappointment.

"On your hands and knees." His voice was low and husky as he watched her moving quickly to turn over. He thrust into her again, reaching forward to thread his fingers into her hair before tugging hard on it. She stretched her head back a little as she cried out, soft mewling moans that made him thrust even faster. He ran his hands over her shoulders, down her back and round to her stomach. God, her body was amazing, especially now; her bare back glistening in the moonlight with beads of persperation and her dress hiked up to reveal the gorgeous curve of her bare ass. He felt her come again, clenching around his cock and crying out as he realised her right hand had been rubbing her clit furiously. He came inside her with a final hard thrust, his body trembling and hoarse cries being dragged from the back of his throat.

She slumped forward when he finally pulled out, turning round and grinning wickedly at him, bits of hair sticking to her forehead in the warm night. She kissed him once softly on the mouth before using her panties to clean herself off quickly down there and tossing them over a fence. She pulled down her dress and fixed her hair before fixing him with a stare.

"See you later, Peeta."

* * *

Gale and Katniss were broken up barely two months into their relationship. Two months during which he and Johanna had fallen into some sort of friends with benefits routine. It had taken them getting drunk together almost a week later before they finally talked about what had transpired in the garden of the house party. And that had just ended with a repeat performance on Johanna's kitchen table later that night. Peeta had felt a smug sense of satisfaction watching Gale and Katniss eat breakfast there the next morning, followed up by the nauseating throb of love sickness in his stomach. He was hopeless. But Johanna seemed to want him, sexually at least anyway, and that would have to do for now. The times he'd let his mind wander to Johanna before he'd always thought she'd be wild in bed; he wasn't wrong. He'd never let a girl tie him up before or blindfold him. She had a whole drawer full of toys which she'd shown him while she was drunk, prodding him with various vibrators and giggling hysterically. It wasn't so funny an hour later when they lay naked and sweating on her bedroom floor, the battery of her bullet well and truly burned out. He also found out she had a fetish for getting caught – they went to the movies one day and Peeta asked her to come shopping with him afterwards to help him pick out new dress trousers. They'd ended up in a changing room, Johanna pressed up against the wall with her legs tight around his hips as he thrust up into her. The bruises on his shoulder from where her teeth had clamped down in an effort to keep quiet had stayed for a week. He was perfectly content with what they were doing up until Gale had told him over dinner one night about his and Katniss' break up. He'd kissed some other girl at a club and Katniss had screamed at him and told him it was over. Gale didn't seem all too bothered, nothing beyond his usual post break up emotions, especially when they'd only been dating for two months. Johanna came round later that night to watch a film with him in his room; it was their usual Friday routine, accompanied by beer and whatever variety of chocolate she brought. And so when she started into the final part of their routine, pressing wet open mouthed kisses to his neck and reaching for the buttons on his shirt, he felt the difference that the news from earlier had made. So he moved away from her slightly, pressing his hand a little into her chest. He saw the smile on her face falter and the bitter sting of rejection register across her features.

"Oh. Ok." She nodded, as though confirming something to herself. "You heard then." He could swear she sounded like she was about to cry.

"Johanna, I …" he didn't know what to say. He didn't think he'd have to say anything when this moment came around; they were just having sex, seeking passion and pleasure from each other when they needed it most but without the complication of feelings.

"It's fine Peeta. Whatever." She was pulling on her jacket now before lacing up her boots quickly. He only noticed then in his silence the beautiful dress she was wearing; dark red and flared a little at the waist, so different to what she usually wore. How could he focus only on that when their friendship seemed to be falling apart right in front of him? He had to say something but the words wouldn't come. Why was this happening? In his heart he knew why really; the look on her face when he'd pushed her away had told him everything she felt that he didn't. She gave him one last glance before she turned around.

"See you later Peeta."

* * *

He tried talking to her at the bar a few days later but she kept the conversation short. He tried texting to make plans but she always came up with excuses. Once he had been sitting while she worked trying desperately to catch her attention while sipping his beer when Katniss joined him. She started asking him something about their assignment, dragging Johanna over to and so giving her no choice to talk to Peeta.

"So you've got a thousand words done hmm?" Katniss smiled at him and sipped her coke.

"Uhh yeah." He watched Johanna's eyes linger on them as she walked away to serve another customer before lowering his eyes to his beer. He didn't try any more after that. He understood what had to happen.

* * *

He finally got up the courage to ask Katniss Everdeen on a date two months later during one of their lab practicals. It took another month for him to ask her to be his girlfriend and that night for them to have sex for the first time. Katniss and Johanna stopped living together at some point during the first six months that he and Katniss went out. He heard snippets of her life through the grapevine from his girlfriend over dinner and in the evenings after college or work. He didn't miss her much any more or feel guilty as much as he used to; despite the fact that that in itself made him feel callous. Katniss Everdeen would turn out to be the girl he married, the woman who would be the love of his life and the mother of his beloved children. He and Johanna barely spoke the rest of their lives; she was Katniss' facebook friend who updated from exotic locations with photos of her and her boyfriend (later, husband and family) from all over the world, a friend who only really wrote the odd message to her on her birthday or at Christmas. But more importantly to Peeta, Johanna would always be the girl who wanted him first.


End file.
